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Conservation groups: Surge in illicit ivory trade results in killing of 30,000 African elephants a year

Poachers killed one of Kenya's most beloved elephants -- a behemoth animal with tusks so large, they touched the ground.

Satao was shot with poisoned arrows in the sprawling Tsavo National Park in the country's southeast.

Wildlife officials found his carcass with two massive holes where his tusks once stood. His face was so badly mutilated, authorities used other ways to identify him, including his ears and the pattern of mud caked on his body.

"Satao is dead, killed by an ivory poacher's poisoned arrow to feed the seemingly insatiable demand for ivory in far off countries. A great life lost so that someone far away can have a trinket on their mantlepiece," Tsavo Trust said in statement late Friday. "Rest in peace, old friend, you will be missed."

Photos:Ivory's tragic price

Photos:Ivory's tragic price

Ivory's tragic price – An elephant walks with her infant in the Amboseli Game Reserve in Kenya. The International Fund for Animal Welfare says 2012 had the highest toll of elephants' lives in decades. Between January and March 2012, at least 50% of the elephants in Cameroon's Bouba Ndjida National Park were slaughtered for their ivory. Most illegal ivory is destined for Asia, in particular China, where it has soared in value as an investment and is coveted as "white gold."

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Photos:Ivory's tragic price

Ivory's tragic price – A police officer catalogs illegal ivory found in the possession of four Chinese men in Nairobi, Kenya, in January, 2013. The men pleaded guilty to smuggling thousands of dollars worth of ivory and were fined just $340 each. The loot included 40 chopsticks, six necklaces, bracelets and a pen holder, as well as raw ivory that had a black market value of $24,000 in Asia.

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Photos:Ivory's tragic price

Ivory's tragic price – An elephant is pictured in southern Kenya. Wildlife protection groups say the number of African elephants killed for their tusks is the highest in decades, in part because of increasing prosperity and demand for ivory in China.

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Photos:Ivory's tragic price

Ivory's tragic price – Chinese basketball star and conservationist Yao Ming looks at the carcass of an elephant killed for its tusks in Kenya.

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Photos:Ivory's tragic price

Ivory's tragic price – A member of the Lord's Resistance Army stands guard. The group is accused of poaching elephants in the Democratic Republic of Congo's Garamba National Park and using the profits to fund terror activities.

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Photos:Ivory's tragic price

Ivory's tragic price – A Kenya Ports Authority employee weighs ivory tusks seized by officials on January 21, 2013, in Mombasa. The value of the 638 illegal tusks was estimated at $1.5 million.

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Photos:Ivory's tragic price

Ivory's tragic price – A man with the words "Blood Ivory" painted on his face protests in Nairobi with a group called Kenyans United Against Poaching.

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Photos:Ivory's tragic price

Ivory's tragic price – A 5-month-old orphaned elephant called Tembo is taken for a walk by his keepers at Tony Fitzjohn's Mkomazi Rhino Sanctury in Mkomazi, Tanzania.

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Photos:Ivory's tragic price

Ivory's tragic price – Elephants travel together at the Amboseli Game Reserve, about 200 miles outside Nairobi, Kenya.

Satao is a victim of an illegal ivory trade that has doubled worldwide since 2007, with the United States among the top markets for illegally acquired tusks because of unregulated ways of purchasing ivory, including the Internet and auctions. China is the largest market, and other Asian nations such as Thailand, the Philippines and Vietnam also drive demand.

Conservation groups say the recent surge in the illicit ivory trade has resulted in the killing of 30,000 African elephants annually in recent years. The tusks sell for thousands of dollars, making it a lucrative trade and endangering already fragile populations in Africa.

"The surge in the killing of elephants in Africa and the illegal taking of other listed species globally threatens not only wildlife populations but the livelihoods of millions who depend on tourism for a living," said Achim Steiner, executive director of the U.N. environment program.

Armed groups are capitalizing on the increasing value of ivory by killing elephants and trading their tusks for arms and ammunition.